Hand-carry and pull-along grill oven

ABSTRACT

The grill oven mainly contains an oven body, an oven cover, a pair of seat pieces, a pair of H-shaped stands, a pair of boards, two pairs of sliding rails, and at least a pair of wheels. The seat pieces are provided along a front bottom edge and a back bottom edge of the oven body. The stands are provided and hinged along a left bottom edge and a right bottom edge of the oven body, so that they could be folded beneath the oven body. The pairs of sliding rails are provided so that the boards could be slid laterally in and out of the left and right sides of the grill oven. On either a left or right end of the seat pieces, the wheels are provided, respectively. The grill oven could be hand carried or pulled on its wheels.

(a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to grill ovens, and moreparticularly to a grill oven that, after its foot stand is collapsed,could be hand-carried or pulled along on the grill oven's wheels.

(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Barbecue is a widely popular outdoor activity, making people's leisurelife more interesting. However, for moving the grill oven outside thehouse, transporting the grill oven to the wilderness, and changing theplace of barbecue, all require the laborious movement of the grill oven.

The conventional grill ovens, even for those cart-type grill ovens, aretoo heavy and bulky for outing and traveling. Even though there arelightweight and portable grill ovens, their functions are limited andtheir assembly/disassembly is rather troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A novel grill oven is provided herein, which mainly contains an ovenbody, an oven cover, a pair of seat pieces, a pair of H-shaped stands, apair of boards, two pairs of sliding rails, and at least a pair ofwheels. The seat pieces are provided along a front bottom edge and aback bottom edge of the oven body, respectively. The stands are providedalong a left bottom edge and a right bottom edge of the oven body, andhinged between the front and back seat pieces, respectively, so thatthey could be folded beneath the oven body. The pairs of sliding railsare provided so that the boards could be slid laterally in and out ofthe left and right sides of the grill oven, respectively, under the ovenbody. On either a left or right end of the seat pieces, the wheels areprovided, respectively. After the H-shaped stands are folded under theoven body and the boards are retracted, the grill oven could be handcarried. Alternatively, the grill oven could be pulled on its wheels bythe handle on an un-retracted board opposite to the wheels. Variousfastening means and locking means are provided between the oven coverand body, between the seat pieces and the boards, and between the foldedstands.

According to the present invention, the oven cover, the H-shaped stands,the boards are joined to the oven body by various pin-joining andsliding means so that the grill oven could be easily and convenientlycollapsed and expanded. Together with the effortless pulling means, thefor a large-scale grill oven, its transportation convenience is stillpreserved.

According to the present invention, the boards could be pulled out fromunder the oven body for placing various objects such as food andutensils. Most significantly, handles are provided on the boards and, byleaving one of the boards opposite to the wheels un-retracted, thehandle of the board could be used to pull the grill oven.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introductionto the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects ofthe present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detaileddescription of the invention and the claims should be read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specificationand drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similarparts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will becomemanifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to thedetailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which apreferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of thepresent invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing a grill oven according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left profile diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a right profile diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 1 whenthe oven cover is closed.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged diagram showing a board of the grill oven of FIG.1 is latched.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged diagram showing the latch bar of FIG. 4A is aboutto be released.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged diagram showing the board of FIG. 4A is completelyunlocked by the latch bar.

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 4 when aboard is partially retracted under the oven body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 6 whenthe board is completely retracted under the oven body.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged diagram showing the retracted board of FIG. 7 isblocked and secured by the latch bar.

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 1 whenthe stands are collapsed.

FIG. 9 is a profile diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 1 when thestands are completely folded and stacked under the oven body.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged diagram showing the locking of the stands of thegrill oven of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective diagram showing a collapsed grill oven of thepresent invention is hand-carried by a user.

FIG. 12 is a perspective diagram showing a collapsed grill oven of thepresent invention is pulled on its wheels by a user.

FIG. 13 is a perspective diagram showing a grill oven according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective diagram showing the grill oven of FIG. 13 whenit is collapsed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides aconvenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made inthe function and arrangement of the elements described without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a grill oven according to an embodiment of thepresent invention mainly contains an oven body 10, an oven cover 20, afront seat piece 30, a back seat piece 31, a H-shaped left stand 40, aH-shaped right stand 41, a left board 50, a right board 51, a left pairof sliding rails 60, a right pair of sliding rails 61, and at least apair of wheels 70 and 71. The oven body 10 has a side control panel 11with a handle 12. Inside the oven body 10, the common oven componentssuch as a grill 13, a plate 14, and a burner 15 could be provided. Thefront and back seat pieces 30 and 31 are provided along a front bottomedge and a back bottom edge of the oven body 10, respectively. The leftand right stands 40 and 41 are provided along a left bottom edge and aright bottom edge of the oven body 10, and hinged between the front andback seat pieces 30 and 31, respectively, so that they could be foldedbeneath the oven body 10 or unfolded to support the oven body 10. Alongthe inner surfaces of the front and back seat pieces 30 and 31, the leftand right pairs of sliding rails 60 and 61 are provided so that the leftand right boards 50 and 51 could be slid laterally in and out of theleft and right sides of the grill oven, respectively, under the ovenbody 10. Please note that there are handles 50A and 51A along the outeredges of the left and right boards 50 and 51, respectively, tofacilitate the sliding of the left and right boards 50 and 51. On theinner surface of either a left or right end of the seat pieces 30 and31, the wheels 70 and 71 are provided, respectively.

Fastening elements 80 are provided at the left and right sides of thegrill oven between the oven cover 20 and the oven body 10. Eachfastening element 80 contains a hook piece 80A on the oven cover 20 anda ring piece 80B on the oven body 10. The fastening elements 80 couldtightly join the oven cover 20 and oven body 10 together so that thegrill oven could be securely transported. On the other hand, when theH-shaped stands 40 and 41 are unfolded to an upright position, pins 81are provided to run through the front and back seat pieces 30 and 31,and the H-shaped stands 40 and 41, to securely lock them together. Tomove the grill oven, the pins 81 are removed so as to collapse theH-shaped stands 40 and 41.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A, locking means 82 are provided to the leftand right sides of grill oven to secure the left and right boards 50 and51, respectively. Each locking means 80 contains a latch 82D on the seatpiece 30 or 31, and latch hole 82E on a front or back side of the board50 or 51. Each latch 82D contains a latch seat 82A having an L-shapedlatch bar 82C laterally slidable in a sliding track 82B. Each latch 82Dand its corresponding latch hole 82E are provided such that, when eitherthe board 50 or 51 is fully pulled out, the latch bar 82C could be slidinto the latch hole 82E along the sliding track 82B. The boards 50 and51 are thereby reliably locked in their extended position for placingvarious objects on their top surfaces, without being accidentally pushedand retracted under the oven body 10. To really retract the boards 50and 51, using the board 50 as example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the L-shapedlatch bar 82C is turned so that it could be slid along the sliding track82B. The latch bar 82C is then moved away so that it is not locked tothe latch hole 82E, as shown in FIG. 5. Then, the board 50 could bepushed, as shown in FIG. 6, until it is fully under the oven body 10. Asshown in FIG. 7, after the board 50 is completely retracted, theL-shaped latch bar 82C is turned so that it could be slid along thesliding track 82B and the latch bar 82C is then moved so that it sticksout in front of the board 50 to prevent the board 50 from accidentallysliding out.

After both the boards 50 and 51 are securely retracted as describedabove, as shown in FIG. 8, the pins 81 are removed to release theH-shaped stands 40 and 41's locking to the seat pieces 30 and 31. TheH-shaped stands 40 and 41 are then folded towards each other until theyare flatly stacked under the oven body 10, as shown in FIG. 9. Lockingmeans 83 are provided between the H-shaped stands 40 and 41 to reliablyhold them together. Each locking means 83 contains a plug 83B on thestand 40 and a matching socket 43A on the stand 41 at correspondinglocations, respectively. Therefore, when the stands 40 and 41 are foldedand stacked together, the plug 43B is snapped into the socket 43A, asshown in FIG. 10, so that the stands 40 and 41 are reliably joined toeach other.

After the grill oven is collapsed as described above, the grill ovencould be hand-carried by the handle 12 as shown in FIG. 11.Alternatively, the grill oven could have only one of the boards 50 and51 adjacent to the wheels 70 and 71 retracted and latched. The grilloven then could be conveniently and effortlessly pulled on the wheels 70and 71 by the handle 50A or 51A of the un-retracted board 50 or 51.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 13.For the H-shaped stand 40 that is adjacent to the wheels 70 and 71, anadditional pairs of wheels 72 and 73 are provided to the front and backedges at a bottom end of the stand 40. As such, instead of using thewheels 70 and 71, the grill oven could be conveniently and effortlesslypulled on the wheels 72 and 73 by the handle 50A or 51A of theun-retracted board 50 or 51 that is adjacent to the wheels 70 and 71. Asshown in FIG. 14, to facilitate the stands 40 and 41's folding beneaththe oven body 10, the wheels 72 and 73 are configured so that they avoidthe seat pieces 30 and 31 when the stands 40 and 41 are folded.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intendedto be limited to the details above, since it will be understood thatvarious omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the formsand details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be madeby those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spiritof the present invention.

1. A grill oven, comprising: an oven body having a handle on a side wall; an oven cover; a front seat piece and a back seat piece positioned along a front bottom edge and a back bottom edge of said oven body, respectively; an H-shaped left stand and an H-shaped right stand positioned along a left bottom edge and a right bottom edge of said oven body, and hinged to said front and back seat pieces, respectively; a left board and a right board slidably and laterally held under said oven body by a left pair of sliding rails and a right pair of sliding rails installed on inner surfaces of said front and back seat pieces, respectively, each said boards having a handle; and a pair of wheels provided on inner surfaces of either a left or right end of said seat pieces, respectively; wherein, after said H-shaped stands are folded and said boards are retracted, all under said oven body, said grill oven could be hand-carried by said handle of said oven body; and, alternatively, by leaving one of said boards opposite to said wheels un-retracted, said grill oven could be pulled on said wheels by said handle of said board.
 2. The grill oven according to claim 1, wherein at least two fastening elements are provided at a left side and a right side of said grill oven between said oven cover and said oven body; each said fastening element contains a hook piece on said oven cover and a ring piece on said oven body; said fastening elements tightly join said oven cover and oven body together so that said grill oven could be securely transported.
 3. The grill oven according to claim 1, wherein, when said H-shaped stands are unfolded to an upright position, a plurality of pins are provided to run through said front and back seat pieces and said H-shaped stands, to securely lock them together; and, to fold said H-shaped stand for transporting said grill oven, said pins are removed first so as to collapse said H-shaped stands.
 4. The grill oven according to claim 1, wherein locking means are provided between said H-shaped stands to reliably hold said H-shaped stands when they are folded; each said locking means contains a plug on one of said stands and a matching socket on the other stand at corresponding locations, respectively; and, when said stands are folded and stacked together, said plug is snapped into said socket so that said stands are reliably joined to each other.
 5. The grill oven according to claim 1, wherein locking means are provided to a left side and a right side of said grill oven to secure said left and right boards, respectively; each said locking means contains a latch on a seat piece, and latch hole on a front or back side of a board; each latch contains a latch seat having a L-shaped latch bar laterally slidable in a sliding track; each latch and its corresponding latch hole are provided such that, when a board is fully pulled out, said latch bar is slid into said latch hole along said sliding track so that said board is thereby reliably locked in its extended position for placing various objects on a top surface of said board; to retract a board, said L-shaped latch bar is slid along said sliding track to that said latch bar is not locked to said latch hole; then, after said board is pushed until it is fully under said oven body, said L-shaped latch bar is slid along said sliding track so that it sticks out in front of said board to prevent said board from accidentally sliding out.
 6. The grill oven according to claim 1, wherein, for an H-shaped stand that is adjacent to said wheels, an additional pairs of wheels are provided to a front edge and a back edge at a bottom end of said stand; as such, instead of using said wheels, said grill oven could be conveniently and effortlessly pulled on said addition pair of wheels; said additional pair of wheels are configured so that they avoid said seat pieces when said stands are folded. 